At least 14 police officers have been killed by Kurdish militants in a bomb attack in Turkey, widening a conflict with the Turkish state.
Tuesday’s (September 8) bombing is the latest in a daily stream of attacks by the outlawed PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) on solders and police in eastern Turkey since fighting resumed in July.
On Sunday the PKK killed 16 soldiers near the Iraqi border.
Turkey responded with warplanes pounding targets in northern Iraq where the group has bases.
President Tayyip Erdogan said the PKK had suffered “serious damage.”
“We have not and will not leave the future of our people to the terrorists, to the members of an organisation of treason and its collaborators,” Erdogan said.
Dozens of F-16 and F-4 jets took part in the Turkish military operation on Monday hitting PKK food and weapons stores as well as the group’s machine gun positions.
